Ophiuchus - the 13th Astrological star sign?

OPHIUCHUS

THE THIRTEENTH ASTROLOGICAL STAR SIGN ?

NO, it's not!
Ophiuchus is a neighbouring constellation. Just as there are other neighbouring constellations.

Constellations are divided into three sets: 21 northern, 12 in the zodiac, and 15 southern.

The northern constellations are:

1. Ursa Minor, the Little Bear.
2. Ursa Major, the Great Bear.
3. Draco, the Dragon.
4. Cepheus, the King.
5. Bootes, the Herdsman.
6. Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown.
7. Hercules, the Kneeler.
8. Lyra, the Lyre or Swooping Eagle.
9. Cygnus, the Bird.
10. Casiopeia, the Throned Queen or the Lady in the Chair.
11. Perseus.
12. Auriga, the Holder of the Reins.
13. Ophiuchus, the Serpent-holder.
14. Serpens, the Serpent.
15. Sagitta, the Arrow.
16. Aquila, the Soaring Eage.
17. Elphinus, the Dolphin.
18. Equuleus, the Horse's Head.
19. Pegaus, the Winged Hourse.
20. Andromeda, the Chained Woman
21. Traingulum, the Triangle.

As you can see it is the 13th star in the northern constellation group.

Ophiuchus (pronounced off-ee-YOO-cuss) represents a man with a snake coiled around his waist. He holds the head of the snake in his left hand and its tail in his right hand. The snake is represented by the constellation Serpens.

Serpens
Constellation on the celestial equator (see celestial sphere), represented as a serpent coiled around the body of Ophiuchus. It is the only constellation divided into two halves: Serpens Caput, the head (on one side of Ophiuchus), and Serpens Cauda, the tail (on the other side). Its main feature is the Eagle nebula.

This constellation is unique, for it is divided into two parts – Serpens Caput, the head, and Serpens Cauda, the tail. Nevertheless, astronomers regard it as a single constellation. Serpens represents a huge snake held by the constellation Ophiuchus. In his left hand Ophiuchus grasps the top half of the snake, while his right hand holds the tail. Aratus and Manilius agreed that Serpens was coiled around the body of Ophiuchus, but most star atlases show the snake simply passing between his legs (for an illustration of the full tableau, see Ophiuchus).

In mythology, Ophiuchus was identified as the healer Asclepius, son of Apollo, although why he appears to be wrestling with a serpent in the sky is not fully explained. His connection with snakes is attributed to the story that he once killed a snake that was miraculously restored to life by a herb placed on it by another snake. Asclepius subsequently used the same technique to revive dead people. Snakes are the symbol of rebirth because they shed their skins every year.

The star Alpha Serpentis is called Unukalhai from the Arabic meaning ‘the serpent’s neck’, where it is located. The tip of the serpent’s tail is marked by Theta Serpentis, called Alya, an Arabic word that actually refers to a sheep’s tail. The most celebrated object in Serpens is a star cluster called M16, embedded in a gas cloud called the Eagle Nebula, the subject of a famous photograph by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Ascendant: The degree of the zodiac rising over the eastern horizon of the birthplace at the moment of birth.

Caput Draconis: From the Latin, literally dragon's head; an older term for the Moon's North Node.

Cauda Draconis: From the Latin, literally dragon's tail; synonymous with the Moon's south node.

Descendant: Point opposite the Ascendant.

ecliptic: The apparent path of the Sun as it "travels" around Earth during the course of a year; actually, Earth's orbit around the Sun.

nodal chart: An equal house chart, which places the Moon's South Node at the Ascendant, used primarily by medical astrologers to diagnose health problems. In this context, the South Node and Ascendant represent the head, the North Node and Decendant the feet, the lower hemisphere the right side of the body and the upper hemisphere the left.

node: The point of intersection of a planet's orbit and the ecliptic.

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The Zodiac

The 12 “star signs” the astrologers use are the constellations that fall on the ecliptic, otherwise referred to as the zodiac. The ecliptic is merely the path the sun seems to follow as the earth revolves around it. So, if on a certain date you looked at the sun, the current “star sign” would be the constellation directly behind the Sun.

Star Sign (Constellation) ............. Date
Sagittarius........................Nov 22 Dec 21
Capricornus.......................Dec 22 Jan 19
Aquarius...........................Jan 20 Feb 18
Pisces.............................Feb 19 Mar 20
Aries...............................Mar 21 Apr 19
Taurus.............................Apr 20 May 20
Gemini.............................May 21 Jun 21
Cancer..............................Jun 22 Jul 22
Leo..................................Jul 23 Aug 22
Virgo................................Aug 23 Sep 22
Libra................................Sep 23 Oct 22
Scorpius............................Oct 23 Nov 21

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THE WORD OBEAH

Now, while it is true that the ORIGIN of the word is indeed obscured and clouded in secrecy, it is primarily because Obeah, as implied above, is in itself clouded in secrecy --- being the remnant of a once very powerful and celebrated SECRET religious Order lost in the mist of time. Even so, slowly over the years clues have surfaced that indicate THAT particular secret religious Order emanated from a certain general geographical area. Those clues, few in number that they may be, strongly point to the fact that the Order originated in or around an area where the Egyptian language was either born, dominant, or used by the priests or religious class --- much as Latin is used by certain religious orders today --- with the power and knowledge of Obeah maintained and rising from the underground ashes of that dispersed Order over the centuries. Considering such a background, it is very probable the etymology of the word sprang from the Egyptian word Ob or Aub, meaning "serpent." Oph is a winged serpent or dragon; and Ab means wisdom/understanding, and together means "Serpent of Wisdom" or "Serpent of Knowledge." To this day Obion is still the Egyptian name for a serpent. .....

Moses, who escaped with his people out of Egypt with the full might of the Pharaoh's army hot on their heels all the way to the Red Sea --- where the army reportedly then drowned --- forbade in the name of God, the Israelites even to enquire about the demon Ob, which is translated in the first testament as a necromancer, wizard, or Diviner. In today's world the various translations are wide enough to encompass the type shaman-sorcerer that the infamous Yaqui Indian Don Juan Matus apprenticed under, a Diablero, a new-world tribal spiritual elder known to embody a sense of evilness and the ability to shapeshift. Moses himself carries a great deal of importance in all those translations, including right up to this day with Obeah. Even though Moses forbade enquiry into Ob amongst his people, he is seen as the ultimate snake-charmer and among the greatest of magicians. When Moses doubted he was really hearing the voice of God, he was asked what he was holding in his hand. When he replied that he was holding a rod, he is commanded to throw it to the ground. When he does, the rod becomes a serpent. When he picks it up it becomes a rod again. Later, under the direction of Moses, when Aaron throws his rod down before Pharaoh, it becomes a snake as well.(Exodus 7:1-16)

Throughout the ancient world, the Middle East and Egypt, because of the brilliantly clear desert night skys, the stars and the constellations carried deep significance, both for the wandering tribes such as those following Moses and the great civilizations and city-states such as Babylonia, Sumeria, and Egypt. Ophiuchus the Serpent Bearer is one of those desert-sky constellations.

The peoples of ancient times (most typically the Pythagoreans, but others as well) had a legend that a kind of Light, described as a "living fire," flowed through all living things. Guarding this Flame was the serpent Ophioneus, very similar in respects to his nearly same namesake Ophiuchus. He was said to lay coiled in the Waters of Life. If anyone obstructed or hindered the Light of the Flame, Ophioneus would rise out of the water like a monster and consume them. The Greek philosopher Pherecydes (circa 600-550 BC) wrote a great deal about Ophioneus, having obtained the doctrines from the Phoenicians, also known as Ophites (Greece was first colonized by Ophites, serpent worshippers from both Egypt and Phoenicia). The Ophites venerated a serpent by the deity-title Ab, sometimes rendered Ob and Ob Aur, meaning Father --- as in the procreator of All. They also had the watery serpent Leviathan or Thiavat, which is same as Ophioneus. All of this ties into Abaddon that appears in Revelations as the Angel of the Abyss. It is unclear if the forces of the Abyss are fully good or evil in any way. The Obic forces that guard the Light and keep it flowing apparently take it by whatever means necessary and return it back to where it belongs when a person fails to let it flow or obstructs it.


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